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Poland Arms Exports
A possible solution to the critical condition of
Poland's
arms industry is increased exports. A 1992 study rated
Poland
twentieth in world arms exports in the period 1985-91,
with an
estimated total export value of more than US$1.6 billion.
Between
60 and 70 percent of Poland's arms exports involved
servicing and
spare parts. At that point, three large companies--Bumar
Labedy,
Cenzin, and Cenrex--had government licenses for arms
export, as
did fifty small firms. In the transition period,
regulations
governing arms export were often murky, leading to a
series of
scandals when the extralegal activities of Polish
exporters were
disclosed. In 1991 high-ranking defense officials were
arrested
for selling US$96 million worth of arms to Iraq, and a
number of
smaller export deals were uncovered.
Data as of October 1992
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